1. In the framework of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Peru and India, the Vice President of India, Shri Mohammad Hamid Ansari, accompanied by a high level delegation, paid an official visit to Peru from 26th to 28th October, 2013.
2. During his visit, the Vice President of India had a special meeting with the President of the Republic of Peru, H.E. Mr. Ollanta Humala Tasso. Shri Ansari conveyed the greetings of the President of the Republic of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee and extended an invitation to President Humala to pay an official visit to India. The invitation was accepted with pleasure and it was agreed that mutually convenient dates would be finalized through diplomatic channels.
3. The Vice President of India held detailed discussions with the First Vice President of Peru, H.E. Ms. Marisol Espinoza and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru, H.E. Ms. Eda Rivas Franchini. He also had a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, H.E. Ms. Magali Silva. In addition, he visited the National Congress of Peru where he met the President of the Congress, Mr. Fredy Otarola and members of the Peru-India Parliamentary Friendship League.
4. The Vice President inaugurated the Festival of India in Peru. He also launched INCHAM, the new Indian Chamber of Commerce in Peru.
5. The talks covered a wide range of issues pertaining to bilateral, regional and global matters of mutual interest and were held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. The Governments of Peru and India reaffirmed their commitment to deepen the high degree of mutual understanding and cooperation that exists between the two countries, and to further consolidate and strengthen the existing ties between them in various fields, especially trade, investment, defense, education, culture, science and technology.
6. The two sides stressed the importance of promoting bilateral political dialogue, including through the continuation of high-level contacts, in order to take their relationship to a higher level. Accordingly, they agreed to establish a Joint Commission, chaired jointly by their Ministers of Foreign Affairs, with the objective of strengthening political, security, judicial, human resource development, economic, technical, scientific, social and cultural cooperation, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding to this effect. It was further agreed that their senior officials will meet in Lima in the second half of 2014 to decide on detailed modalities for beginning the work of the Joint Commission and prepare for its first meeting.
7. The two sides noted with satisfaction the impressive increase in bilateral trade which was over US$ 1.1 billion in the year 2012. They agreed on the importance of promoting greater business meetings and trade missions between the two countries. They also expressed their desire to continue exploring new opportunities for augmenting bilateral trade, as well as the importance of increasing cooperation in the area of investments, to the benefit of their economic sectors specially the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
8. The two sides underlined that a Free Trade Agreement between Peru and India will have a positive impact on increasing prosperity and well-being of the people of both countries. The Peruvian side welcomed the Indian initiative of undertaking a comprehensive study on this important subject that will have far reaching implications for both countries. Keeping this in view, they both agreed to continue to work towards holding negotiations in near future.
9. On the other hand, they also agreed that early conclusion of their ongoing negotiations on instruments to promote and protect bilateral investments would greatly assist the businesses of both sides.
10. Both sides reiterated their willingness to identify concrete actions and projects that generate a structured exchange of experiences, at the level of South-South Cooperation.
11. It was also agreed to define a set of priority areas for the implementation of cooperation programmes, both in the application of information technologies and technological innovation to increase development opportunities, as in the use of science for equality and social and digital inclusion in Peru (e-education, e-health, IT software and solar energy, among others).
12. The Government of Peru welcomed the willingness and goodwill of the Department of Science and Technology of India to collaborate in the exchange of experience and good practices necessary to implement projects in Peru under its Science for Equity, Empowerment and Development (SEED) programme, focused on development issues and social inclusion.
13. In reiterating its gratitude to Government of India for the establishment of the Centre of Excellence in Information Technology (CEIT) in Lima, the Government of Peru expressed its hope for an early implementation, which will contribute towards the training of key technical personnel in the country for the management and implementation of these technologies. The Government of India assured the Government of Peru that the process to establish the CEIT was in its final stages and it will become operational soon.
14. Peru expressed its appreciation to India for regularly providing technical training to Peruvian citizens under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC).
15. The two sides signed an Exchange Programme on Cooperation in the Field of Education which will promote initiatives designed to create coordination mechanisms to facilitate the funding of scholarships, projects and/or joint agreements for the enhancement of human resources of both countries.
16. The two sides underlined that India and Peru are cradles of great civilisations. In this context they both underscored the importance of further deepening bilateral cultural relations through cultural exchanges and cooperation in diverse art forms such as painting, dance, theatre, literature, craft, etc. as well as holding of cultural festivals in each other´s countries from time to time. With this objective, the Cultural Ministers of the two sides signed a Letter of Intent for enhancing cooperation in the fields of museology, conservation of movable cultural properties and dissemination and promotion of cultural heritage of each other´s countries.
17. The two sides concluded their negotiations and signed a Defence Cooperation Agreement. This will enable the enhancement of cooperation between Peru and India in the fields of defence and defence technology through establishment of appropriate mechanisms.
18. At the multilateral level, both governments reiterated their commitment to democracy, peacekeeping and security, renunciation of the threat or use of force, peaceful settlement of disputes and respect for international law and principles of the United Nations. They affirmed that terrorism cannot be justified in any form for any cause or for any reason. Both countries agreed to maintain a high level of coordination and cooperation, particularly on issues of mutual interest, such as the reform of the United Nations Organization and mutual support of candidatures presented to international organizations. Peru reiterated its support for India’s claim for permanent membership in an expanded UN Security Council.
19. The Vice President of India congratulated Peru for its impressive economic growth and the leading role it has played within the “Pacific Alliance” and other regional integration schemes.
20. The two Governments expressed their satisfaction with the celebration this year of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Peru - India diplomatic relations, and the organization of various activities to commemorate this. This occasion, has provided a further opportunity for strengthening the ties of friendship and cooperation between them. They particularly appreciated the visit to India in April 2013 of a parliamentary delegation from Peru, the first ever between the two countries, and agreed to encourage more such exchanges.
21. Equally, both governments underscored the need to strengthen "people to people" relations between the two countries and agreed to explore the possibility of promoting sister-city relationships between the most representative cities in their respective countries.
22. The Government of Peru thanked the Government of India for organizing the Festival of India in Lima on the occasion of the official visit of Vice President Ansari.
23. At the end of the visit, the Vice President of India expressed his appreciation to the Government of Peru for the warm welcome and hospitality received during his official visit to Peru.
Courtesy: Press Information Bureau (pib.nic.in)
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